eginning with the acquisition of Chicago-based Topin
and Associates, 2015 would
become HCB Health’s
strongest year to date, agency leaders say. It was just one year earlier
that CEO Kerry Hilton outlined his vision to
double the agency’s size and expand beyond
its Texas roots. The plan focused on broadening HCB’s footprint first by entering the
Midwest. This “Close to the Customer”
strategy has given the agency greater access
to clients who appreciate HCB’s independent thinking and digital prowess. The plan
quickly paid off, resulting in 10 new account wins by the close of 2015, executives
say. With revenues exceeding those of the
previous year by 50 percent, and with an
additional 30 new staffers between its two
offices, the agency has gained momentum
and growth is accelerating.

“2015 was a record breaker,” says agen-cy partner and CSO Nancy Beesley. “Newmarquee clients and the recruitment ofhigh-profile talent have catapulted theagency from the mainstream to the shortlist for many clients seeking more nimbleagency partners.”According to agency leaders, the HCBHealth Chicago office, led by Al Topin, hasseen a tremendous amount of new ener-gy and opportunity now that it’s part ofthe HCB community. “We’re now a biggeragency with bigger resources,” Topin says.“Clients have access to a wide spectrum ofstaff and skill sets, while employees havemore opportunities within the network.”Executives say what makes HCB such apowerful force is something inside the corephilosophy of the agency – part of the DNAsince its founding. They use a term they call“Badass Behaviors,” meant to show boththe competitive nature of the agency andthe relentless commitment to be the bestat what they do. Executives say the agencyself-elects a “Badass of the Month,” an in-dividual who is consistently going the extramile, creating a new process, or developingan award-winning strategy or campaign.“Because HCB is independently owned,management and staff are fiercely deter-mined to serve no one but their clients andtheir employees,” executives say. “Whenworking with a new client, HCB is forth-coming about what the agency can andcan’t do, as well as what the agency teamswant to do – a refreshing change clients ap-preciate. It’s a culture that is contagious.”“We aren’t looking for the clients whowant to always play it safe,” Beesley says.“The best work comes when you gentlynudge a client out of their comfort zone. Ina hypercompetitive world, only productsthat behave boldly will win. You can go big,or you can go home.”Executives say at HCB, going big startswith the agency’s strategic officers divingdeep into the core of a brand to uncoverits powerful purpose and then developingstrategies that align with the needs of tar-get HCPs and patients. “Sometimes thiskind of thinking can be uncomfortable andmake the palms of a brand manager sweata little,” executives say. “That usually meanswe’re onto something special. And once abrand’s code has been cracked, we don’tjust focus on breaking through clutter, weconcentrate on ideas that will force the clut-ter to step aside.”